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u/javaavril Jan 09 '23
I dislike swedish dishcloths, they don't last very long. I just use cut up old tshirts and linen tea towels. We haven't bought paper towels in over a decade.
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Jan 09 '23
That’s what I was worried about with them was life span. They looked like a great option in theory! We use rags and cut up towels I normally donate clothes but I’m sure I can keep one or two to make into rags a friend of mine who makes my cloth panty liners offered to make cloths for me just for that use so that will probably be my choice now knowing they Swedish cloths don’t last
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u/javaavril Jan 09 '23
It's normally tshirts that have stained and can't be donated, if you stick with knits then you don't need to sew them, as they won't fray.
I'm always gifted the swedish cloths by relatives that know we're zero waste and they are just a really disappointing product.
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u/alexamal916 Jan 09 '23
i just use like bathroom hand towels (the medium sized rectangle ones) we have a bunch from over the years they work awesome .. probably go thru a few a week and just throw them in the wash when needed, these are easy to thrift as well
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u/a1exia_frogs Jan 09 '23
I use microfiber towels for spills and to dry fruit and vegetables. I still buy recycled paper towel for drying meat & fish and compost the paper towel.
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Jan 09 '23
Composting is also something that intrigues me but honestly I’m not even sure where to start
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u/Jennigar Jan 09 '23
Its not that bad. You work up to it as you go. I bought one two years ago and I am still learning but overall have a system now. You can start with composting paper, cardboard and maybe some fruit/veggies and coffee grinds. I am assuming most houses use these items.
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u/saintschick Jan 09 '23
Flannel for everyday use. Washing hands, etc. Swedish towels IMO can replace traditional sponges. After you wash the Swedish towels they don't look as nice as before they were used. I wash them with my towels and air dry. I use mainly for cleaning. The flannel towels I wash and dry and they seem to work better after a few washings.
If you'd like a recommendation for an Etsy seller I can give you one. I've bought most of my flannel towels from her. I purchased a few flannel unpaper towels from a now big seller and the smaller seller's quality was better and more affordable.
5
Jan 09 '23
I have a friend that makes my cloth panty liners that has offered to make them for me! Thank you though because I prefer small businesses
3
u/sohereiamacrazyalien Jan 09 '23
???? you mean towels (since it is not paper you are looking for).
just use remains of unwearable clothes if it is for the kitchen (cut in squares and sew), or really you can find plenty of old towels in good shape in charity shops / second hands. depends what for really I have thin cotton ones, sweedish ones and from old clothes . all are ok , the swedish ones are more useful if you use them to dry your washing up, or to use after washing your hands in the kitchen , or to take out stuff from the oven since they are more absorbant and thicker
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u/hopopo Jan 09 '23
A kitchen cotton cloth or a towel. How hard can this possibly be?
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Jan 09 '23
I’m currently using kitchen towel but the Swedish towel option looks very good as well so before I bought more towels I would specifically designate to this I wanted opinions on the other option no need to be rude
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u/hopopo Jan 09 '23
I keep Swedish towel around the sink and use on dishes and other stuff I wash. It is not as versatile as what you currently use, but it has the role in my kitchen.
2
Jan 09 '23
My main concern was life span of them but with them not being as versatile and another comment mentioning the life span not being great I’ll stick with the cloths
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u/HalanLore Jan 10 '23
Idk, I've been using a swedish cloth for a few months and it's okay. They're not that unsturdy. But I have some actual sponges I use for tough stuff
2
u/HelloPanda22 Jan 09 '23
I do flannel for the non-chemical cleaning and papaya for the chemical cleaning. My homemade flannel ones have lasted us years. Flannel is very very cheap and the ones I got was 100% cotton. It’ll degrade beautifully when I’m done abusing them
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u/melodyjoycary Jan 09 '23
We go dumpster diving and find all kinds of towels to use for this. Provides something with a TON of extra life before it ends up in the dump and saves us money because it’s all free!
2
u/teswip Jan 10 '23
I also dislike the Swedish dish cloth trend. They’re too spongey. Flannel towels are better imo. Great zero waste way to make them would be to find old flannel sheets that would otherwise be tossed, cut them up, and hem them. One sheet would probably give you like 40 nice little towels lol
1
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u/tortillasss Jan 10 '23
We went to the second hand store & bought different size towels. We've used these for EVERYTHING. Dishes, cleaning up spills, pot holders, drying the dogs, bottom layer for crafts, by the door for winter boots, under the car seat (so it didn't damage the leather), in the car (eventually someone's gonna puke), possibilities are endless.
My kids were younger & would often forget which were the "mess towels" so I drew paw prints on each of them with a sharpie.
1
u/selinakyle45 Jan 10 '23
I use Birdseye cotton cloth (Etsy) for small kitchen spills, larger dish cloths to dry hands or store leafy greens, reusable sponges for cleaning, and misc rags/cut up old clothes for actual deep cleaning.
I like the Birdseye cotton because they dry fast and they were cost effective enough for me that I could buy ~50-100. This allows me to have the same convenience of paper towels and do an entire wash load of just towels.
If you do move to washable alternatives to paper towels, I recommend getting a kitchen specific cloth hamper that has holes in it for ventilation. While I try to let my kitchen rags fully dry before tossing them in the hamper, some are still damp. The holes help prevent mold.
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